At our school, Las Irlandesas, in Madrid, I have been in charge of the Dual Diploma for four years now. During that time we have grown from a small group of 24 pupils to 93 this year!! Our students are very enthusiastic about this program because it provides not only full English immersion but also the door to exciting attractive materials and experiences, such as being able to talk live online with highly interesting people, like survivors of the Holocaust and Pearl Harbour or the managing director of Coca-Cola worldwide. They have the opportunity to debate with kids from all over the world, about current topics like the War in Ukraine or the Presidential Elections in the USA last year. I consider such interviews the best part of the Dual Diploma, an unusual enriching educational gift they do not usually come across in their current school studies. Far from memorizing boring History or Literature facts, our Dual Diploma youngsters learn how to create a poem by themselves, to weigh up the causes and consequences of a particular war or the strategic reasons behind a type of battle choice. They are expected to carry out their own research, they learn how to cite sources or how to argue for and against a current news topic. In short, a holistic innovative student-centered methodology that encourages our young people to lead their own learning process while improving their language skills as well as general knowledge and culture.
Alicia Pinedo
